While the Faculty Federation does not generally comment on confidential personnel matters, the situation involving Professor Fred Wiseman at Johnson State College has generated so much press coverage and public controversy that we feel compelled to comment. The Federation has reviewed all the material...

In response to the confusion and frustration on campus, the Student Government Association wants to explain what happened with the Movie Nights.
The SGA hadn’t received the DVD when “Magic Mike” was scheduled to show in Stearns Cinema a few weeks ago. The anticipated release date for the...

It doesn’t read "We, the Jury" under the Basement Medicine masthead. It’s a Bob Dylan quote. In the spirit of that quote, today we’re on the pavement thinking about confidentiality.
The issue of confidentiality has been all too evident on the Johnson State College campus.
It’s been as frustrat...

Have you started exercising yet? Did you measure your abdomen as I mentioned last week? Well, the other part of the obesity equation is our diet. Diet is WHAT we eat, not a restrictive way of eating. Why are we so overweight in America? Well, for starters, we have literally “supersized” our food....

The following is an excerpt from a commentary written by Ryan Alexander and Bernie Sanders.
The US is facing a $15 trillion national debt, and there is no shortage of opinions about how to move toward deficit reduction in the federal budget. One topic you will not hear discussed very often on Capitol...

Oh, shit. Talk about full circle. The first editorial of this semester discussed the importance of fighting SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill which would have severely limited Internet freedoms. (It’s back, by the way, in the form of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA,...

Get a tape measure. What you don’t have one? Get creative with a piece of yarn (from a knitter on campus) and a ruler… and measure the largest portion of your waist between your belly button and the hipbone. Men, are you over forty inches? Women, are you over thirty-five inches?
If you answered...

This guest column was originally published in the Williston Observer.
In the two years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, Americans are seeing the benefits. Nearly 86 million Americans have received free preventive services such as routine check-ups and cancer screenings. Over 105...

I was wrong.
I wrote a large piece on Bruce Springsteen’s new album, “Wrecking Ball,” which was published last edition, and even there was significantly edited from its initial gargantuan incarnation. I lamented the loss of the Boss’s specific human stories, and cried for the Bruce...

One of my favorite poems is “Diagnosis” by Sharon Olds (You can find the poem at http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2010/11/19). In this poem, a mother is deathly worried about “funny looks” that sometimes appear on her baby’s face. Fearing her child possessed, she takes her...

There is no place for intrigue and excitement like the Vermont Statehouse as the end of a biennium approaches. We all come back from town meeting knowing that if legislation is to make it to law this session it has to pass out of committee this week in order to have time to work it’s way through the...

Boy, did you feel that? That was a warm, spring breeze. Used to be it might start turning 60 degrees in mid-April if we were lucky.
Now it’s just past mid-March and we’re having 70- to 80-degree days. Don’t know where they’re coming from, maybe global warming, but hey, que sera, sera – I’m...

Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Dylan Giambatista, a political science student at Johnson State College.
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Dylan Giambatista, a political science student at Johnson State College.
Rejoice! For the first time in 17 years, a sitting president of the Unit...

Stepping from the brink of the cave, the woman moves rapidly to the brambles near the cave entrance where she remembers the blackberries. She feels a twinge of fear at having forgotten her spear but the thought of the blackberries override it as she hurries to the berries. The woman draws near the brambles...

The following is an excerpt from an editorial by Sen. Bernie Sanders, which originally appeared on CNN.com.
Gas prices approaching $4 a gallon on average are causing severe economic pain for millions of Americans. Pump prices spiked 5% in the past month alone. Crude oil prices stood at $108 on ...

It’s time for the talk.
Maybe you’ve experienced it. Maybe you’ve just heard about it from your overzealous friends. Whether one has experienced it first- or second-hand, there’s no doubt it’s one’s chance to go deep into what matters – one’s loved ones.
So let’s talk...

Last semester, at the Harvest Keepers Community Potluck, I picked up a few informational handouts provided by Edmund Harris on local food sovereignty in Vermont. It was a subject touched on by organic meat, egg, and milk producer John Clark, “Farmer John,” of Applecheek Farm in Hyde Park.
By...

In preparation for this article, I interviewed Brad Moskowitz, Professor of Outdoor Education, avid backcountry enthusiast, and member of the Mount Mansfield Ski Patrol. Brad provided me with helpful information grouped into five general recommendations.
Remember the old Scouting adage “be prepared”?
1: Prep fo...

This has been an exciting week at the State House. In my ten years as the Rep from Johnson and Eden I have never witnessed such a large turnout of Vermont State College students. As a JSC alumni myself, I have to admit we had by far the best showing. Well done JSC! It is this kind of action that influences...

If you are concerned about the collapse of the middle class, you should be concerned about how American campaigns are financed. If you wonder why the United States is the only country in the industrialized world not to have a national health care program, if you’re asking why we pay the highest price...

If seasons were lovers, February might be the Faye Dunaway of the group. Not “Chinatown” Faye Dunaway, either – more like the cold, mood-swinging, psychopathic “Mommy Dearest” Faye Dunaway. If you let her, February will let you slide the wrong way down the slippery slope of progress and wave...

It is no secret that the people of our country are angry and frustrated with Washington and their government. They correctly perceive that we face enormous problems: a collapsing middle class, increased poverty and a growing gap between the very rich and everyone else; sky-high unemployment; 50 million...

When it comes to being successful, does attitude matter?
Does it help to be positive?
Are people born that way or is it something that can be cultivated?
What about happiness – do you have to sacrifice happiness to work hard and be successful?
Yes. Yes. Yes. And, no. Research on Positive...

This year, the Vermont Legislature has hit the ground running.
Throughout the fall most members were hard at work helping their communities recover from Hurricane Irene.
Fortunately, Lamoille County sustained little damage when compared to the southern part of the state, although Johnson did lose...

On Tuesday, the Feb. 7, your fellow students, faculty and staff will be heading to our state capitol to rally around the issue of funding for higher education.
This has the potential to be a pivotal event in the campaign to make higher education reasonably affordable for Vermont State College students....

We kicked SOPA’s ass.
SOPA was the Stop Online Piracy Act, a bill to – you guessed it – stop online piracy, chiefly but not only illegal downloads of movies and music. It is a problem, in that the artists behind the illegally downloaded movies and music aren’t getting paid for their work when...